Iran Executed 6 of 10 People Sentenced to Death in Kurdistan. Remaining 4 on Hunger Strike

The Centre for Supporters of Human Rights reports on four Kurdish prisoners on death row in Ghezel Hesar Prison who have been on hunger strike for more than a staggering two months. They are reportedly refusing food in protest to their detention and death sentences. Their names are: Jamshid and Jahangir Dehgani (brothers), Hamed Ahmadi and Kamal Molayee.

Iranian authorities arrested them and six other individuals shortly after Iran’s Leader Ali Khamenei paid a visit to the province of Kurdistan in 2009. They had gathered at a mosque to protest against insults the regime authorities direct at Sunnis. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights based in Norway says these prisoners were subjected to unfair trials and possibly sentenced to death as part of the Iranian authorities’ crackdown on the Sunni Muslim in Iran. “We ask the international community to use all the channels in order to help these prisoners meet their just demands,” says Amiry-Moghaddam in an IHR report.

Doesn’t make sense

Authorities charged the ten with an assassination crime that occurred after they were arrested and sentenced to death. Authorities later changed their charge to “Moharebeh”, but executed six of them in December 2010 for other unrelated charges: drug trafficking and rape.

The trial for the four remaining prisoners lasted ten minutes and without the presence of a lawyer. The entire investigation process was riddled with torture and deception — attempts by authorities to complicate the cases in order to discourage human rights activists and NGOs from reporting. And, a lack of or missing information in a human rights case often causes media seeking the cause of death to just publish official quotes by Iranian authorities.

By executing six individuals arrested at the protest under bogus charges, Iranian authorities succeed to cause further confusion in the cases of the remaining four individuals. They are sitting on death row refusing to eat. They are in critical health.

Amnesty announced on Thursdaythat Iranian authorities have executed 40 people since the beginning of 2014.